My wife & I will be celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary on Maui 10-20 to 11-3. We have done most of the tourist stuff already. Looking for off the beaten path stuff. Thrift stores, best beach to relax & hang out. best walk or short hike, etc. Any info on Halloween in Lahaina. Will be meeting MauiTiki to pick up a couple of mugs. Any other TC'ers want to meet up? Any other suggestions are welcome.

We'll just be missing you - we're going for our anniversary the beginning/middle of October! Last time we were there we went to Halloween in Lahaina - lots of fun, although apparently it's less rowdy and more family-friendly than in the past. We loved it - you really get to see something truly local. Get to Front Street a bit early, get something cold to drink and stake out a shady spot to watch the parade.

If you're in the Ka'anapali area in the evenings, the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel has free hula in their beautiful courtyard from 6-9pm or so. They have a decent tiki bar and grill where you can get a pizza or mahi mahi sandwich and have a drink outside under the watchful gaze of the giant Ku statue while watching the show. A good way to not spend a fortune on dinner once in a while.

Consider Maui Fridays for a big local street party, if your schedule permits. We're planning on going to the Wailuku one when we're there. http://mauifridays.com/

If you want an incredible meal with gorgeous, tiki-ish ambience and have some coin to spend, of course Mama's Fish House is the place to go. Verrrry expensive and not usually the kind of place we'd be able to go to, but for our anniversary we're going to do it. We had lunch there last time and didn't regret a penny of it. Make reservations, though. http://mamasfishhouse.com/ You can even do it more inexpensively by just going during lunch for appetizers, drinks and maybe one of their Black Pearl desserts to share. Fantastic experience all around, and not the least bit stuffy.

As for beaches, we're partial to Ka'anapali, despite the hotels. Great snorkeling right there at Black Rock, beautiful sunsets, drinks available at hotel bars, and of course the stunning blue water.

Karen,
Mama's is definitely on our list, probably on our anniversary. Still looking for that off the beaten path stuff. We're going to check the surfing goat dairy. Also the Maui swap meet. Any other out of the way places or local favorites would be great.

The Sugar Cane Train.
"Join us as we travel between historic Lahaina town and the resorts of Kaanapali. Relax in an open-air coach whose nostalgic charm recalls the days of old Hawaii.

With a blast of its steam whistle, the locomotive chugs along a six-mile stretch of track at a leisurely pace. During your train ride, the Sugar Cane train crosses a 325-foot curved wooden trestle whose elevation yields panoramic views of neighboring islands and the West Maui Mountains.

During your journey, our narrator will entertain you Hawaiian-style and point out sites of interest along the way."
http://www.sugarcanetrain.com

Back from paradise, work sucks!! Here are just a few shots from our trip.

Dinner at Mama's Fish House. Always the best!!
My first helicopter trip. It was awesome.
Kaanapali Beach & Black Rock
I had Rob (MauiTiki)he's on the right, make a couple of custom mugs. Scott (BeachBumz) is on the left. We met at The South Shore Tiki Lounge. If your ever in Maui you must look them up. They are great guys. Scott has a great store in Kihei.
A sunset sailing cruise is a must.
Downtown Lahaina.
The road to Hana. Take a tour it's much more enjoyable than having to drive it yourself.
The backside road is open now. The landscape changes drastically.
Halloween in Lahaina is a crazy party.
It was a great two weeks. We also hit a lot of thrift stores & the swap meet. They were great too.
Can't wait for our next trip.

TikiPops, It was great meeting you and Karen the other day, make sure to look us up next time your on the island. I'll be following your thread on those killer lamps your making too..
Aloha! _________________